Politics of Popularity
by InterruptedProgress
Summary: Alice Brandon has a knack for landing her best friends into some strange situations, but the one that sticks out most in the mind of Isabella Swan is the year she was roped into running for Junior Class President. Her opponent? Edward Masen. AH.
1. Preface

_A/N: I know what you're thinking, "She's starting another one?!" but honestly this isn't going to be very long, maybe ten chapters at the most? I'm just trying my hand at an all human story because this idea wouldn't leave me alone. But before you ask, no I am not abandoning "Remember to Forget", I am almost done with the next chapter. Please review and tell me what you think._

**Preface-**

I glanced around the auditorium, my cheeks stained permanently red as I met the gaze of my classmates. I could see their bored expressions; they wanted to be here less than I did, although I was sure that was impossible at the moment. Rosalie was sitting in the front row giving me the thumbs up signal, while Alice sat beside her, holding up a ridiculous pink sign that read 'Go Bella!' in silver glitter. Directly behind her sat Emmett McCarty, who was currently making obscene hand gestures at Rosalie as her back was turned.

My only thought besides '_Get the heck out of here!_' was '_Ridiculous_'.

I didn't even _want_ to be here, on this make shift stage that one of the father's had built because he had way too much time on his hands. I would much rather be sitting beside my friends, being bored out of my mind.

But that's my life, isn't it?

To the right of me, Edward Masen stood, his eyes studying the ground with concentration that anyone would admire. I really screwed up there didn't I? I shook my head; this was not the time for regrets. Beside him, Ben Cheney fidgeted nervously, his hands wringing together in an attempt to distract himself.

Taking a deep breath, I turned to face the audience and cleared my throat nervously.

"H-hello. My name is Bella Swan and I would like to be your class president."


	2. I Nominate Bella Swan

_A/N: Sorry this took so long to write, but I finally finished it and I hope you enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

**I nominate Bella Swan-**

Alice's foot tapped impatiently against the empty corridor's floor, causing an annoying effect as the sound echoed through the halls. I attempted to ignore her as I grabbed my books from my locker and stuffed them into my backpack, making sure to double-check that I had all of my homework.

Alice sighed, her tapping picking up pace.

I opened up my Trig Book and glanced at the half-finished problem. Mr. Varner wouldn't be too happy with me if I didn't turn in a complete assignment. Math wasn't my best subject.

"Alice, did you understand the last problem on the Trig homework?" I asked, biting my lip as I tried to figure out the solution to the equation. I had spent at least an hour last night attempting to work through it before giving up. My luck was no different this morning and I wasn't even properly awake yet. Alice wouldn't let me get coffee.

"Alice?" I looked up from my book to see why she wasn't answering. She had switched from foot tapping to dancing from the heels of her feet to her toes and back again, while pouting.

"_Bella_," She stretched out my name. "Can we _please_ get to class now?"

"Why are you in such a hurry? Class doesn't start for another hour!" I wasn't very happy with her at the moment. She had called my house at _five_ and insisted that we be at the school early. She wouldn't tell me why, but threatened to give my phone number to Mike Newton if I didn't obey.

"I know, but I don't want to miss anything!" She cried as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I stared at her blankly. I would usually ask her what we would be missing at six-thirty in the morning, but knew better. She wouldn't tell me and in all probability she didn't know herself, but had a "feeling". Alice liked to call it her sixth sense, while Rose preferred to call it a nuisance. Alice's "feelings" have gotten us into some pretty strange situations over the years.

"You had better come up with a better excuse for Rose. She won't be happy that you woke her up from her beauty sleep." Not that she needed it. I doubt she could look any better, but still. A sleep deprived Rosalie is a scary Rosalie.

Alice shrugged off my comment and continued badgering me. I began to move slower in order to spite her.

She scowled at me and pinched my arm.

"Ow!" I shrieked. "What was that for?"

"Hurry up!" She demanded. "I don't want to be late!"

I rolled my eyes and rubbed my arm. The stupid little pixie had dug her nails in hard…

"Oh stop it, Bella, you're fine." She snapped as she danced impatiently.

"Alice, calm down. I'm sure that class won't start without us when I bet you that the teacher isn't even here yet." I grumbled the last part as I slammed my locker shut. No sooner had my lock clicked shut before she grabbed my hand and dragged me towards our homeroom.

Her heels clacked noisily against the tile as she power-walked through the halls, me stumbling behind her trying to keep pace before she pulled my arm out of the socket.

As we rounded the corner, I wasn't surprised to see a blonde headed figure sprawled out on a blanket near the door. From far away she looked like a corpse and I found myself thinking that only Rosalie could look that stunning dead. But as we neared she slowly sat up, her piercing blue eyes glaring daggers at Alice.

"I hate you." She growled before laying her head back down on the blanket. Alice released her vice grip on my wrist and I scrambled to sit down next to Rosalie on the blanket, leaning my back against the lockers.

"Good morning to you to." Alice responded before her phone began ringing, filling the halls with Cascada's "Everytime We Touch". Rosalie and I exchanged knowing glances.

"Hey Jazz!" Alice squealed into the phone.

Rosalie glanced up and scowled at Alice's perky smile.

"You had coffee!" She cried, pulling herself into a sitting position and pointing an accusatory finger at my friend's bright eyes.

Alice rolled her eyes and waved us off. "No, no. That was just Rosalie. What were you saying?"

"You little hypocrite!" Rosalie continued. "You wouldn't give me enough time to get properly dressed, let alone get a cup of coffee before you threatened me!"

"Mike Newton?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Mike Newton." She grumbled. "He bothers me enough during school I don't need him getting his grubby little hands on my phone number as well." I nodded in agreement. Rose rested her head on my shoulder and we remained silent, listening as Alice continued her conversation with Jasper.

"What time will you be here?" She asked and I found myself smiling smugly. I got some twisted pleasure in the fact that she made him come as well.

"Tell him to bring coffee!" Rosalie demanded sleepily and I nodded my head eagerly.

Alice sighed and relayed the message. "Alright. Love you, bye." She snapped her phone shut and turned to face us. "He's on his way with coffee and doughnuts."

I closed my eyes, hoping to steal a few minutes of sleep while we waited for Jasper to arrive. Rosalie must have had the same idea because I heard her moving and felt her place her head in my lap.

"Wake me up when the coffee comes." She grumbled.

We didn't have to wait long before footsteps could be heard from down the hall. Rosalie and I jumped up quickly and raced to meet Jasper. I stumbled slightly and she pulled ahead, turning the corner a few moments before me. I silently cursed my clumsiness before rounding the corner and slamming into a frozen Rosalie, knocking us both to the ground.

"What the hell, Rose!"

Rosalie groaned and a booming laughter filled the hallways. Realization came over me and I felt my cheeks turning red.

"Hello Emmett." I grumbled, slowly sitting up from where I had fallen on the tile.

"Good morning, Bella, Rosie Posie!" He smiled cheekily at Rosalie who glared daggers at him.

"Don't call me that!" She snapped scrambling to her feet and brushing herself off.

"Aw, don't be like that." He chuckled. "You know you love it when I call you that."

"What the hell are you doing here, McCarty?" She hissed and I flinched at her tone, although it wasn't directed at me. Emmett however grinned and placed a hand on her shoulder, which Rosalie shrugged off.

"This is a school, I'm here to learn, Hale." He mimicked and she growled in frustration. I tuned out their argument, already knowing where it was headed.

Emmett McCarty has been public enemy #1 with Rose since Junior High when he had stuck a whoopee cushion on her chair during a choir concert in front of the whole school. She had run off stage in her embarrassment and it took Alice and I over an hour to coax her out of the bathroom stall. It was worse that she had had a crush on him at the time and he never apologized. Since then she has insisted she hated him; Rose could hold a grudge.

"Are you going to stay on the ground?" A soft voice asked from behind me. I turned my head quickly and was met with a pair of striking emerald eyes. I felt my heart pick up pace and my face turning pink.

"N-no." I stuttered causing my blush to deepen.

He smiled and offered me a hand, which I took gratefully. I ignored the electricity that ran through my arm as my skin brushed his. I had expected it after being his partner in Biology all semester.

"Thank you." I said as I brushed myself off, my exhaustion almost forgotten in his presence. I was one of the many pathetic girls that had developed a crush on Edward Masen when he arrived in freshman year. However, I didn't flirt shamelessly with him as the others had. In fact, I practically avoided him when possible. I was probably more pathetic then the others since I had been afraid to talk to him. We might not have even met if it weren't for Biology.

"No problem, Bella." He smiled, giving me his lopsided grin, causing my heart to stutter.

"Not to sound rude or anything," I began, watching Rosalie and Emmett's argument from the corner of my eye. "But what are you doing here?

Edward chuckled. "Jasper's car broke down and he needed a ride. He said Alice called him and demanded he get down to the school right away. He also said something along the lines of Rosalie and Bella dying of caffeine deprivation." He sent me a knowing look and I blushed.

"Yeah, well I-" Rosalie cut me off by grabbing my arm in her tight grip.

"Sorry Masen, but Bella and I have a date with Starbucks." She snapped at him as she began towing me back down the hallway. I sent Edward an apologetic look and he laughed, shaking his head before turning back to Emmett.

"Ouch, Rose! I would prefer if my arm remain in its socket!"

"Sorry Bella." She said, loosening her grip. "He just really irritates me!"

I sighed. "I know, Rose." No one could get under her skin like Emmett could.

We reached the end of the hallway and picked up our pace as the smell of coffee greeted our senses. When Jasper and Alice came into sight, we broke out into a run and almost tackled him in our excitement.

"Where is it?" Rosalie demanded.

"Where is what, Rosalie?" Jasper teased.

"I'm in no mood for games, Whitlock. I'm tired, cranky, and I just had an unexpected, unwanted run in with McCarty, now give me the damn coffee!" She growled.

Jasper sighed and pointed towards two extremely large cups of coffee and a box of doughnuts that were sitting beside the lockers. We squealed and grabbed the cups. I greedily took my first sip causing me to burn my tongue.

"Ouch."

"Its hot." Jasper smirked and I glared at him.

"You're a lifesaver Jasper." Rosalie said as she reached inside the box for a doughnut and pulling out on with chocolate and sprinkles. I took a napkin and grabbed a Boston Cream, smiling as I took my first bite. "If Alice weren't dating you I would totally kiss you right now." Alice cleared her throat and mock glared at Rosalie, who just shrugged in response.

During our miniature picnic, Mr. Mason arrived and stared at us in shock for a moment before shaking his head. "You kids are here early today." Rosalie and I glared at Alice, who smiled sweetly at our English teacher.

"We just thought we would get an early start this morning."

He unlocked the door and we followed him into his classroom, Jasper, Rosalie, and I taking our seats in the back of the class while Alice followed Mr. Mason to his desk.

"May I help you, Alice?"

"Actually you can. I was wondering if there was anything exciting going on today?"

He smiled. "Actually we will be having an in class debate over who was at fault for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet."

Alice frowned. This wasn't what she was looking for. "Is there anything else?" She pressed and I had to laugh at our teacher's expression.

"Er I might have overheard Mr. Banner talking about dissecting frogs in Biology."

I scrunched up my face. That better not be what Alice made us come early for. She sighed and shook her head.

"I'm sorry." He said sincerely. "I can't think of anything else other than the assembly this afternoon, but-" Alice's head snapped up.

"What assembly?" Bingo.

"We're having an assembly this afternoon to begin the student council elections." Alice grinned while Rosalie and I exchanged nervous glances. We knew that smile.

"Thank you Mr. Mason." She sang before bouncing over towards us, her grin still in place as she took her seat beside Jasper.

"You can't be serious." Rosalie hissed.

"Of course I am." She said. "I knew something good was going to happen today."

"No way, Alice." I refused, shaking my head. "I'm not getting mixed up in your crazy schemes. Not this time."

"Why not?" She pouted.

"Because Student Council Elections are just a popularity contest. No one who ever wins actually cares about the school."

"Which is exactly why one of us should run! We could make this school a better place!" She pressed, but we weren't listening.

"Just let it go." Rosalie said and before Alice could argue any further, the bell rang and students began to file in for class.

"This discussion isn't over." She hissed under her breath. Jasper took her hand in his and began rubbing soothing circles in an attempt to calm her down. He had wisely decided to keep quiet during our conversation, lest she force him to run. I smiled at the mental image that popped into my head; Jasper all decked out in red, white, and blue, frowning as Alice bounced happily beside him with a megaphone screaming, "Jasper Whitlock for President!" I giggled in spite of myself and Rosalie looked at me questioningly.

I shook my head and she shot me a look before turning to face Mr. Masen as he began dividing the class into teams.

-x-

"Are you sure this is meat?" Rosalie asked, her face scrunched up in disgust as she poked her meat-like entrée with a fork.

Alice shook her head. "I'm not even sure its food."

Sighing she pushed the "meat" in the garbage and stood up. "I'm going to get a salad, do you want anything?"

"No thanks. I brought my own food." I said, gesturing to the paper bag in front of me. She nodded and turned to Alice.

"Water, please." She chirped.

"So Alice," I began as Rosalie strutted towards the lunch line. "Where's Jasper?"

She sighed and she took a bite of her sandwich. I waited for her to swallow before she answered. "He's having lunch with the guys."

"In need of some testosterone huh?"

"Yeah, I guess." She was pouting. "I miss him."

I rolled my eyes and opened up my bag of chips. "You'll see him during the assembly." I realized that it was a mistake as soon as the words left my mouth.

Like magic Alice's eyes lit up and a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Speaking of the assembly…" She trailed off suggestively.

I glared at her. "No."

"Aw, come on, Bella! It would be fun!" She whined. Thankfully Rose chose this moment to make her appearance.

"What would be fun?" She asked curiously as she slid into the seat in front of me, a small green salad and two water bottles in hand.

"Running for class elections." Alice gushed as she took one of the bottles and took a sip.

"No way, Alice."

The rest of the lunch period was spent in argument as Alice tried uselessly to convince us to run for Class President. I breathed a sigh of relief when the bell rang and everyone left the cafeteria to file into the gym. We spotted Jasper sitting in the middle of the bleachers, waving his hands to catch our attention. My heart started beating wildly when I saw Edward sitting beside him and Rosalie began muttering profanities when she spotted Emmett with them.

"I can't believe we have to sit next to him." She hissed. I kept my mouth shut, knowing better than to disagree with her when she was angry. I didn't find Emmett _so_ bad.

Alice squealed and ran up to Jasper, planting a large kiss on his lips that caused Rose and I to roll our eyes. I smiled shyly at Edward as I took my seat beside him and he grinned at me in return.

"Rosie!" Emmett boomed and she scowled as she unwillingly took the seat beside him.

"Shut up McCarty." She growled.

"Do those two ever stop?" Edward questioned, leaning in towards me as we watched their argument. "Its like they're in third grade."

"Emmett seems to gain far too much enjoyment from antagonizing Rose." I noted, praying that Edward couldn't hear my heart, which was pounding at his near proximity.

"Testing. Testing." The principal, Mr. Malone, said into the microphone. "Quiet down everyone."

Gradually, the conversations died down and he cleared his throat. "I'm sure by now you all know what this assembly is about, but for those of you who are unaware. Student Council Elections are coming up." From the corner of my eye I saw Alice glaring at me, but I chose to ignore her and tried to focus on anything but the gorgeous boy sitting beside me.

"Now before I go on, I feel the need to say that Student Council Elections are _not _a popularity contest-" I rolled my eyes. "And that only those who truly care about the school should run…" I tuned out his speech, having heard it for the past two years and turned my attention to Rosalie and Emmett who were currently in another argument.

"You have to be kidding me!" Rosalie hissed. "There is no way!"

Emmett sat up straighter and rose an eyebrow at my friend. "I would wipe the floor with you." He said confidently and I wondered what they were arguing about this time.

"So with that being said," The principal boomed. "Do we have any nominations for class President?" He looked at us expectantly and I watched as Angela stood up slowly, a slight blush gracing her cheeks.

"I nominate Ben Cheney." Mr. Malone nodded and looked around the bleachers. "Does anyone second that nomination?"

Lee Stephens stood up. "Alright, Ben Cheney is on the roster." I smiled, knowing Ben would make a great President, if he were elected. The principal whispered something to Mrs. Cope, who was sitting down in the front row and she wrote, what I assume to be Ben's name on a sheet of paper.

"Are there any other nominations?"

No one said anything and he looked at us, exasperated. "Come on, anyone?"

Emmett's voice suddenly rose from its whisper as he stated to Rosalie, "I bet I could beat you in the elections."

Rosalie scoffed. "You think you could win the office of class president?"

"No, but I know someone who can." Emmett stood up. "I nominate Edward Masen."

I turned to look at Edward who was staring at Emmett in disbelief. "Excuse me? Emmett I don't want to-"

"I second that nomination!" Lauren Mallory screeched from a few rows down, before turning around and batting her eyelashes at Edward. "I believe in you."

Before Edward could do anything, Mr. Malone's voice filled the gym. "Excellent, Edward Masen is on the ballad."

I sent Edward a pitying look as he continued to glare at his friend. I glanced back towards Emmett who sent Rose a challenging grin. Her eyes widened and she looked around the gym frantically, before her eyes met mine. A smirk made its way onto her face and before I could do anything she rose from her seat.

"I nominate Bella Swan."

"What?" I hissed. I expected something like this from Alice, but not Rosalie.

Alice wasted no time jumping to her feet. "I second that nomination!"

I watched in horror as Mrs. Cope wrote my name down and Mr. Malone announced that he would take no more nominations and dismissed us to our last period. I turned to glare at Rosalie, who met my gaze sheepishly.

"Sorry?" It came out like a question.

"You are so-" I didn't get the chance to finish my sentence before Alice's squealing filled my ear.

"Oh my gosh, I _told_ you guys today would be great!"

Yeah, just great.

* * *

_So what do you think? I'm not a mind reader, so please review and tell me, did you like it, does it suck, am I just wasting my time? Any feedback would be welcome!_

* * *


	3. Strategic Maneuvering

_A/N: Okay, sorry for the long wait. This chapter took forever to write._

_Thanks to all of you who reviewed, it meant a lot to hear what you guys thought of the story._

_One of you guys asked me if Edward was a player. The answer? No. He's just Edward. Lauren is just a big flirt who thought that she could get Edward to like her if she got him nominated._

_As we can see, that was the last thing he wanted._

_I think I've talked enough for now, here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!_

_

* * *

_**Strategic Maneuvering-**

My foot was shaking anxiously as I sat in one of the folding chairs that were placed near the principal's office. Mrs. Cope would glance up from her dime store novel every few moments, eyeing me curiously as I waited for Mr. Malone to finish up with whatever meeting he was having so that I could speak with him. On the nearby wall an analog clock, displaying an incorrect time, was ticking away wearing down on my already strained patience.

I was going to kill Rosalie.

Running for Class President was _not_ something on my list of things to do. I hated the spot light and all the attention that came along with it. I didn't even like the school that much. It was old, outdated, and had a weird smell. Why would I want to spend even more time here than necessary?

Rosalie was lucky that we didn't share fifth period together. After her not so convincing apology she rushed off into the crowd of students, managing to avoid my anger for the time being; leaving me to deal with an over enthusiastic Alice and an amused Jasper.

Mr. Malone's baritone voice could be heard just outside his door and I sat up straighter in my seat, mentally preparing myself for the conversation ahead.

"I'm sorry Mr. Masen," He said as the door swung open to reveal our pudgy principal and the Greek god beside him. "But I'm afraid that that wouldn't be possible."

Edward sighed angrily and ran a pale hand through his hair. "Mr. Malone, _please_, I don't want to run. My idiotic friend nominated me as a joke."

Our principal frowned. "The class elections shouldn't be taken lightly, but maybe this is for the better. You may find that you enjoy the position."

"But I don't _want_ it."

He shook his head. "There's nothing more to be said here, Mr. Masen and I can't keep discussing this with you when I have students waiting."

He gestured to me, where I was already wallowing in self-pity. From the sound of their conversation there was no getting out of this mess. He nodded his head in dismissal before turning to me. I watched as Edward scowled before striding out of the office. It was obvious from his stiff movements that he was upset.

"Now how may I help you Miss Swan?"

I tore my eyes away from the doorway and shook my head. "Never mind Mr. Malone. You've already answered my question."

I stood up quickly and nodded to Mrs. Cope on my way out the door. A slight mist hit me as I stepped outside and I scowled up at the clouds as the beginnings of another rainstorm sprinkled down on the pavement.

Of course it would be raining.

I pulled my jacket tighter around me and trudged towards the parking lot wondering how on earth I got sucked into these situations. Alice's enthusiasm and unpredictability may make my life interesting, but it was times like this when I seriously questioned our friendship. For once I would like to be dull. I could almost hear Alice's derisive comment to that thought.

"You can be dull when you're dead, Bella."

Yeah, and some days, death seemed like a happy alternative when compared with Alice's idea of excitement. Or rather, death seemed like a direct result. Case and point- Cliff Jumping.

It was one of the happiest days of my life when she decided to give up extreme sports.

I sighed as I pulled the keys to my truck from my pocket and jimmied the lock until it clicked open. I was not looking forward to going home. Knowing Alice, she was probably waiting by my front door, ready to pounce the moment I arrived. She was ecstatic after the assembly and I doubt her enthusiasm has abated during the last few hours.

The drive home took more time than usual. I was hoping to avoid my friend for as long as possible.

I was extremely surprised, but no less pleased to find that Alice's Yellow Volkswagen Beatle wasn't in the driveway. Maybe she had forgotten.

I hopped out of my truck, smiling as I tried to keep my thoughts optimistic. My smile, however, fell when I saw the note attached to my front door, Alice's loopy scrawl crushing any hope I may have had.

Who was I kidding? Alice would never forget.

**Bella,**

**Rose and I will be here around four. I have to pick up some supplies and Rose was too chicken to come by herself.**

**Don't even ****think**** about leaving.**

**-Alice**

I shook my head and unlocked the door. I didn't even want to know what the word "supplies" could mean.

It was quiet, as expected. Charlie wasn't usually home until about seven. You would think that I would get lonely, but Rosalie and Alice were over far too often for that. It was an off day when Charlie didn't come home to our high-pitched laughter and girlish giggling. I even thought he was grateful for it. It was no secret that he felt guilty for working so often and he worried that I might get lonely. I almost snorted at the thought. With those two around, I would never be lonely.

I shrugged off my coat and dropped my keys on the coffee table, glancing at the clock on the mantle and noting that I only had half an hour until my living room would be transformed into a campaign headquarters. I frowned, moving into the kitchen and throwing my backpack down on the table before raiding the cabinets for something edible to eat. I hadn't been to the store in a while and there wasn't much to choose from, but I managed to find a few bags of popcorn and I laid them out on the counter for when the others arrived. The vindictive part of me wanted to let them starve, but it was quickly pushed away when I was faced with the thought of a hungry Rosalie.

I grabbed a cup from the cabinet and filled it with water before going back into the living room. I hadn't been assigned a lot of homework, the assembly had taken more time then the teachers had previously anticipated and left fifth and sixth period shortened. Thank God for small miracles. There was no way I would have been able to survive an extended Gym period. We had just begun our track section of Coach Clapp's grueling curriculum and no amount of pleading on my part or my classmates would allow him to excuse me from Gym.

It would figure that Gym was a required course for all four years of high school. If I had taken up Renee's offer to live with her during my freshman year, I might have been able to escape it. Part of her bargaining tool was the fact that you only needed to take physical education for two semesters down there.

Then again, I don't think I would have been able to part with Alice and Rosalie. That had been _their_ bargaining chip. Their trump card if you will.

A Royal Flush to my mother's pair of two's.

At least, that is how Rosalie described it.

A 'Get Out of Gym Free Card' was worth at least a straight in my eyes.

There was a light knock on my front door, followed closely by my doorbell being rung thrice.

I sighed. That was Alice's signature knock, though Lord knows she didn't need to. Both she had Rose and their own keys.

I slowly made my way towards the door, hesitating briefly to draw a deep breath in order to steel myself for the onslaught I was sure to receive and opened the door wide to reveal a beaming Alice.

"Hey Bella, did you get my note?"

She turned her back to me before I could answer with the obvious, "Duh." And spoke in the direction of the bright yellow beetle that was parked next to my old, red truck.

"Don't forget the charts, Rosalie!"

"You made _charts_?" I sputtered in disbelief.

"Of course." She replied as she danced past me and into the house.

I didn't follow her, instead narrowing my eyes at the tall blond who had her hands full of what must have been the charts as she hip checked the door to the backseat.

"She couldn't have helped me, at all could she?" I heard her grumble as she walked past me, not bothering to make eye contact. She knew I was still upset.

I took one final look back at the Beetle, which then chirped twice. Alice came up from behind me, her keys held aloft and her thumb pressed down on the black button with the latched lock.

"Don't even think about it, Bella."

I sighed, giving one last look to freedom before turning back to go into the house.

The door slammed behind me, sealing my fate.

-x-

She has an attack plan.

An _attack_ plan, as if she were trying to take over a country and not run a campaign for the office of Junior Class President.

I swear she's spending too much time with Jasper. Even Rosalie, who I assume helped her plan this little presentation looked surprised.

Or frightened.

The two emotions were rather synonymous when associated in any regards to something Alice had planned.

I had to hand it to her though; she never does anything half way. She even had color-coated pie charts that divided up the student body into three categories:

The Edwardians, the Bennites, and the Bellacrats.

"Though I wouldn't pay any mind to the Bennites," Alice had said, pausing in her presentation to stare at her chart thoughtfully. "He's like the Independent party nominee or carrot cake in a dessert buffet."

Needless to say, I was ecstatic when Charlie finally came home and took back the living room.

And now I was dreading what awaited me at school. Sitting through her presentation was bad enough; knowing that she was expecting me to _do_ all of those things and to _succeed_. But school, school was a battleground as far as Alice was concerned and any ally I might have had in Rosalie last night would definitely be replaced by the need to crush Emmett McCarty.

I was on my own now– an island of sanity in a sea of chaos.

Steeling myself for the worst, I reached across the console and grabbed my bag before hopping out of my truck. The coast was clear and the parking lot relatively full.

Good. Plenty of places to hide if I spotted either one of them.

Thinking of the terrible twosome and the little stunt they pulled at the assembly led my thoughts to Edward, who had been shang-highed into this mess as well. I assumed Emmett was his campaign manager, much like Rosalie had appointed herself as my own with Alice my campaign coordinator– whatever that was. Part of me – the selfless part – hoped that he was having an easier time with his friend then I was having with my own.

The other part, however, wanted him to suffer along with me.

Kind of like the whole, "If I'm going down, I'm taking you down with me" mentality and all that jazz.

Whatever. I just want someone to complain to.

That is if he would still talk to me. I didn't know if Edward was a competitive person. He didn't _seem_ like the kind of guy who would get sucked into this sort of competition, but how much did I really know about him?

Admittedly, it wasn't much. Just enough for me to nurse my hopeless crush for him and secretly pine.

As a rule, pining wasn't pathetic unless your crush knew you were pining.

A picture of Mike Newton came to mind.

I laughed softly to myself as I entered my homeroom class. It was half full, which was to be expected since school didn't officially start for another ten minutes or so and I shrugged off my coat as I took my seat in the back row where Jasper was already waiting.

"Morning."

"Have you seen Alice this morning?" He asked, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

"No," I said, a feeling of dread slowly coming over me. "How bad is it?"

"It's…" He searched for a word that wouldn't offend his girlfriend if this conversation ever got back to her, which it wouldn't. I don't think I'll ever talk to either one of my friends if it was as bad as Jasper was making it out to be. "It's something."

"Gee, that helps a lot." I tapped my fingers nervously against the top of my desk.

"It's not that bad."

"Yeah, right."

He let out a quiet laugh. "It really isn't. You'll see for yourself when she gets here."

It turned out that I didn't have to wait long. Alice and Rosalie made their entrances not five minutes later, causing more then just my own jaw to drop.

They both were decked out in matching outfits that looked as if they were going to do a Fourth of July photo shoot for some big magazine spread. Both wore off the shoulder red t-shirts and white stilettos, something I only knew because I had been with the two of them when they bought them. I had the same pair buried somewhere deep in my closet. The only difference between their outfits was that Alice wore a white mini skirt and Rosalie, white skinny jeans.

This would have been fine, though maybe a little strange, if it weren't for the heart shaped flag with my face plastered in the middle that adorned the front of their shirts. I caught a glimpse of the back when Alice turned around and saw the words, "Vote for Bella!" in blue lettering on the back.

I let out a surprised hiss and felt heat rushing to my cheeks as the two of them strutted down the aisle like it was a Victoria's Secret runway. The eyes of my classmates followed them as they took their seats on either side of me, before they flickered to me.

This had _not_ been part of the plan.

"When did you have time to do all of this?" I whispered furiously. Rosalie glanced down at her nails, which were unsurprisingly painted a deep blue.

"It pays to know the right people, Bella."

Our classmates hadn't stopped looking at us and I glared down at my desk, wishing that the world would just swallow me whole. Was it possible to die of embarrassment?

From the corner of my eye, I could see Alice lean down and rummage for something in her bag, before pulling out what looked suspiciously like the red shirts they were wearing now.

"Don't feel left out, Bella!" Alice said, tossing the offending article at me. "We made one for you too!"

Jasper, who had been up until this moment trying to suppress his laughter, couldn't contain himself any longer when he saw the look of horror on my face and let out a loud snort.

Alice looked to her boyfriend. "Oh! Jazz, I almost forgot." She reached back into her backpack and pulled out another red shirt. "There is one for you too!"

I smirked as a horrified Jasper reluctantly took the shirt from his girlfriend. I was even more pleased when she forced him to place it on over the shirt he had on. My smile faltered slightly when I saw my own face staring back at me.

Alice clapped her hands gleefully. Jasper scowled when she looked away.

He saw the look I gave him and his frown deepened. "Not. A. Word."

"You can change into yours during the passing time, Bella." Rosalie said.

I glowered at her. "You do know we're not allowed to start campaigning until tomorrow, right?"

"We're not violating any rules." She sniffed. "T-shirts aren't talking to the people, Bella. As long as it's on our persons, it isn't considered campaigning."

I couldn't come up with a response to that and remained silent for the rest of the period.

True to her word, Rosalie forced me to change into that ridiculous shirt during the exchange and I spent the rest of the morning hiding behind my hair and carrying my books against my chest so that people might not see what I was wearing.

It was a futile effort, since Alice and Rosalie sported the same shirt and were hell bent on attracting attention. Not that they needed to try hard to do that though. Heads always turned when they walked by.

I had tried my hand at the silent treatment, but neither one of them seemed to mind. Rosalie said that if I was going to complain, then it was better that I kept my mouth shut. Needless to say, it didn't last very long.

The lunch period brought another change to my schedule when Alice led us away from our usual table and towards the center of the cafeteria.

"Alice, where are you going?" I asked, slightly panicked. Who knew what she was planning to do?

"We're eating lunch with the boys today."

"Um, why?"

"So we can strategize, Bella. Honestly! We need to pinpoint their weaknesses so that we can exploit them and use it to our advantage."

She said it so offhandedly; like it was no big deal that she was finding ways to tear down our friends.

I was about to object to her motives when I looked over her shoulder to see Rosalie already taking the seat farthest away from Emmett at the table, settling herself on Jasper's left. In response to this Emmett moved to her other side, resulting in another argument as she tried to move herself away from him. On Jasper's other side, Edward was laughing and shaking his head as Jasper spoke animatedly with his hands, gesturing to his shirt. Edward looked up and his sparkling eyes caught my own and a lopsided grin spread over his face.

My protests died in my throat as my heart skipped a beat.

If she was providing me more time with Edward, who was I to complain?

* * *

_Seriously guys, who would complain if they got to spend time with Edward?_

_I certainly wouldn't._

_Poor Jasper. I'm afraid Alice has a lot more in store for him before this campaign is through._

_Remember, Reviews = Love_

_

* * *

  
_


End file.
